US delegation stages walkout at UNSC

In a dramatic ending to the two-day debate at UN Security Council on the US-led attack against Iraq, America's UN Ambassador John Negroponte along with his delegation stormed out of the chamber after Iraqi envoy Mohammed Aldouri accused Washington and London of trying to "exterminate" the people of his country.

"I did sit through quite a long part of what he (Aldouri) had to say but I think I'd heard enough after a certain amount of time," an angry Negroponte told reporters on Thursday night.

"I did not hear anything new in what he had to say and of course, can't accept any of the preposterous allegation he put forward," the American Ambassador said outside the chamber.

The walkout is rare in the Security Council though sometimes ambassadors do send their deputies or juniors to attend the meeting to send a message.

Negroponte's walkout came after he sat through hours of debate, listening to several ambassadors describing American-led action as "illegal," "unjustified" and aimed at controlling its oil wealth.

Aldouri, who had already spoken on Thursday, requested floor at the end of the debate to reply to the statements made by various member nations.

The United States and Britain, he said, are about to start a "war of extermination against the Iraqi people."

Aldouri said he believed that it was a British plan to take control of Iraqi resources by "misguiding others" because "they (the British) are known for their trickery."

"They kill a person and then they shed crocodile tears and then they go to his funeral," he said.